Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector having a rear holder connected to a connector housing at a position of a rear end side in a fitting direction to a mate connector serving as a mate to which the connector is fitted.
Description of Related Art
Usually, in the connector used for a wire harness which is arranged in, for instance, a motor vehicle, as an installation space of components of the motor vehicle tends to be small, a connector fitting operation to the mate connectormay sometimes possibly need to be carried out in a narrow space into which a hand is hardly inserted. Accordingly, a rear holder is used which is connected to the connector housing at the position of the rear end side of the fitting direction to the mate connector to obtain a function for preventing a terminal from slipping out from the connector housing so that the connector fitting operation to the mater connector may be easily carried out.
When the rear holder is used to carry out the connector fitting operation to the mate connector, an external force is applied to the rear holder. Thus, there is a fear that that a stress may be concentrated on a position where the rear holder is engaged with the connector housing to break the engaged position.
Accordingly, for instance, patent literature 1 discloses a connector which avoids a concentration of stress in an engaged position of a connector housing and a rear holder.
In the connector disclosed in the patent literature 1, under a connected state of the connector housing and the rear holder, the rear holder is attached between connecting walls and the connecting walls are respectively engaged with each other by engagement protrusions fitted to engagement holes and abutting protrusions abutting on peripheral edges of the connecting walls, so that the connecting walls can be engaged in a plurality of positions. Thus, the concentration of stress can be avoided in the engaged position of the connector housing and the rear holder.
Further, in such a connector, the connector housing is frequently used which includes an elastic engagement arm that is a part engaged with a mate connector as a mate to which the connector is fitted and terminal accommodation chambers which accommodate therein terminals of electric wires having terminals. As for the elastic engagement arm, the electric wire of the electric wire having the terminal is liable to be caught in the elastic engagement arm. As a result, there is a fear that the elastic engagement arm may be possibly broken.
Accordingly, patent literature 2 discloses a connector which can prevent an electric wire from being caught in a lock arm (an elastic engagement arm).
The connector disclosed in the patent literature 2 has a protruding piece located between the lock arm (the elastic engagement arm) and an electric wire taking out surface and protruding rearward, and a rear end of the protruding piece is located in a part more rearward than a rear end of the lock arm (the elastic engagement arm) and the electric wire taking out surface. Thus, the electric wire interferes with the protruding piece to prevent the electric wire from moving round to the lock arm (the elastic engagement arm) side.
[Patent Literature 1] JP-A-2007-227249
[Patent Literature 1] JP-A-2013-246915
However, in the connector disclosed in the patent literature 1, when the connector is pushed in the fitting direction to fit the connector to the mate connector, since a jig or the like is pressed to the rear holder protruding rearward from the rear end of the connector housing to push in the connector, a load applied to the engaged position part is dispersed. However, the load is liable to be applied to the engaged position, so that there is a fear that the engaged position may be probably broken.
Further, in the connector disclosed in the patent literature 2, since the protruding part serving as a wall for protecting the lock arm (the elastic engagement arm) protrudes toward an insert opening side of a terminal, a problem arises that the protruding part interferes with the terminal when the terminal is inserted into a terminal accommodation chamber, and accordingly, the terminal is hardly smoothly inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber.
The present invention devised by considering the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector which can prevent an elastic engagement arm as a part engaged with a mate connector and an engaged part of a connector housing and a rear holder from being broken and makes it possible to smoothly insert a terminal into a terminal accommodation chamber.